Brazil Central Bank Says Current Pace of Rate Increases Adequate

Brazil’s central bank said its current pace of interest rate increases remains appropriate to ensure inflation slows, repeating language it used to justify previous half-percentage-point increases.

Policy makers, led by President Alexandre Tombini, voted unanimously last week to raise the benchmark Selic rate to 9.5 percent from 9 percent, marking the fourth straight 50 basis-point, or 0.50 percentage point, increase. The central bank estimates inflation will remain above its 4.5 percent target through the third quarter of 2015 in both its reference and market scenarios, officials said in the minutes to their Oct. 8-9 meeting published today.